After assuring US President Donald Trump that it would increase measures to stop the drug’s movement across the border in exchange for a halt to tariff threats, Canada said on Tuesday that it has created a fentanyl czar.
Less than 1% of fentanyl entering the US passes over Canada’s border, the country has stated on numerous occasions.
Nonetheless, Trump has insisted that Canada step up its anti-cross-border trafficking initiatives.
Last week he paused 25 percent levies against Canada for a month after Ottawa vowed to step up its efforts against fentanyl as well as undocumented migrants crossing into the United States.
Ottawa also maintains that fewer than one percent of such migrants enter the United States via its border.
Former senior police officer Kevin Brosseau, Canada’s new fentanyl czar, “will work closely with US counterparts and law enforcement agencies to accelerate Canada’s ongoing work to detect, disrupt, and dismantle the fentanyl trade,” according to a statement released by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau yesterday.
Brosseau, a former deputy national security and intelligence advisor to Trudeau, has over 20 years of experience with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, including as Manitoba’s top cop.
A number of initiatives to fortify its borders and cooperate with the US have already been revealed by Canada.
Ottawa has pledged Can$1.3 billion (US$910 million) towards new Black Hawk helicopters, drones, mobile surveillance towers, and nearly 10,000 frontline personnel working on protecting the border.
Nearly 22,000 pounds of fentanyl were captured by US Customs and Border Protection during the fiscal year 2024. Forty-three pounds of that total were confiscated at the Canadian border.
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